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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 17, 2025

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Prompt: what is it that makes Israel worthy of the friendship of the US whereas NATO is worthy of relegation given both would pull it into wars of choice half way around the world of no strategic importance?

Your premise is incorrect: America has no mutual defence clause with Israel, meaning that unlike NATO, it would not be pulled into a war involving Israel (compare Iran launching rockets at Israel to them hypothetically launching rockets at Germany, who would be within their rights to invoke article 5 and draw the US into a direct conflict with Iran).

It also helps that Israel's enemies also have a habit of chanting "Death to America" and have frequently killed American servicemen over the past several decades.

Follow-up: should Israel be the 51st state?

Only if you actually want the US to be directly involved in "wars of choice half way around the world of no strategic importance" given the sudden spike in numbers of new US citizens being fired at by terrorists.

It also helps that Israel's enemies also have a habit of chanting "Death to America" and have frequently killed American servicemen over the past several decades.

While in general I agree with your point, I'd point out that there's likely a reversed cause and effect here. America doesn't support Israel because its enemies chant "Death to America", Israel's enemies chant "Death to America" because America supports Israel.

Assuming you’re referring to Iran, we’ve been enemies since the Persian revolution, due to the events that took place therein, and it doesn’t take ‘Israel’ to explain why a group claiming to be socialist and overthrowing a U.S. backed monarchy would be anti American.

Israel is not the entirety of the reason for all of the hatred of America, especially not for Iran which as you point out has separate beef with the US, but it's surely the main reason every Muslim in the middle east's default opinion of the US is negative, why it's easy for Iran to cultivate allies in the region, etc...

Israel's enemies chant "Death to America" because America supports Israel.

That's one of, but far from the only reason much of the Muslim world hates America, and a common talking point among IDS afflicted people who like to claim that if it weren't for Israel then there'd be no conflict in the ME, ever (not that I'm accusing you of this). Arab antipathy towards the west can be seen as far back as the early cold war, such as during the Suez crisis and in the general orientation of the region towards the Soviet Union years before the US began its relationship with Israel. The current Iranian regime's antipathy towards the US is substantially greater than towards Israel, who it opposes largely because of its alliance with the US.

The current Iranian regime's antipathy towards the US is substantially greater than towards Israel, who it opposes largely because of its alliance with the US.

Right, to Iran, the US is the Great Satan and Israel is the Little Satan. Obviously there's history there -- the US opposed the revolution and supported the Shah -- but it's not about Israel.

This may be entirely true, and yet enemies are enemies, whatever the reason. Mistake theory avails you nothing when the other side is already committed to conflict.